2010 Fess Parker Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

DATE CONSUMED

Sunday, July 28, 2013

VINTAGE

2010

WINERY/PRODUCER

Fess Parker

WINE NAME

N/A

TYPE OF WINE

White

COMPOSITION

100% Chardonnay

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

The grapes for this wine were sourced from five different vineyards throughout Santa Barbara County (mostly)(I’m too tired and old to list them all, but they’re from the Santa Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and even Monterey County)

REGION/APPELLATION/A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area)

Santa Barbara County, California

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14.2%

PRICE PAID

Retail: $18

Wine club member price: $14.40

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

We received this bottle in June 2011 with our regular quarterly wine club shipment

BOUQUET

This wine has a very stony/minerally bouquet, along with some tropical and stone fruit elements such as pineapple, apricot, and peach.  I also detected some earth and oak on the nose, which isn’t too surprising since Blair Fox (Fess’ head winemaker) likes to partially or fully ferment a lot of Fess’ white wines in oak barrels. 

TASTING NOTES

After writing the above notes concerning this wine’s bouquet, I retrieved the newsletter that came with the shipment that included this wine and, sure enough, this wine was indeed 100% barrel fermented (30% of which were new barrels). 

The second thing I did was scream when I noticed the alcohol level on the bottle label.  I’ve had a lot of red wines with less than 14.2% alcohol, so I was petrified that this wine would be a somewhat typical Fess white where the grapes were picked VERY ripe (resulting in elevated alcohol levels) and that the oak that was apparent on the nose would be overwhelming on the palate.  Luckily, neither concern came to fruition.

This is a good, decent Chardonnay, but sadly, I’ve had much better Chardonnays for a similar price (ranging from $8 to $40).   Since the oak was not overwhelming and this wine carries its alcohol level very well, I was expecting a Chardonnay with more depth and complexity.  Like a ripe, typical California Chardonnay, there’s plenty of tropical and stone fruit (which the bouquet foreshadowed), such as peach, apricot, mango, pineapple, pear, and apple.  The barrel fermentation adds vanilla and richness; this is indeed a medium-to-full-bodied Chardonnay, with rich, creamy, oaky elements mid-palate.  In addition to the oak and fruit characteristics, there’s also honeycomb and herbal elements as well.  The finish is palate-clinging and lingering.

We’ve belonged to Fess’ wine club since 2007; they were the first wine club Arthur and I joined.  Pretty much all of their wines are, at worst, good, going all the way up to fantastic (some of their Pinot Noirs and red blends).  I do have one issue with Fess’ white wines: they tend to use VERY ripe grapes (with high alcohol levels) and the (partial or full) barrel fermentation can make their whites seem a bit heavy, leaden, overly-rich, and almost overbearing.  Although I appreciate all kinds of wines made in all kinds of styles, I do prefer whites that are generally lean and lower in alcohol.  If the wine has incredible depth-of-flavor with a complex flavor profile (along with fabulous balance and a gorgeous structure), I’d have no problems with a Cali Chardonnay with 20% alcohol.  However, I’ve yet come across a fantastic Cali Chard above 14% alcohol with complexity, depth-of-flavor, balance, structure, and elegance that warranted all that alcohol.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

I paired this wine with scallops pan-seared in curried butter (about one or two tablespoons of butter with a light sprinkling of curry powder) and topped with freshly-cracked sea salt and black pepper.  This wine paired beautifully with the scallops and because of its richness and fruitiness would also pair well with most rich/fatty fishes (like salmon), roasted chicken, lobster mac & cheese, and even pan-seared pork chops.

AGING POTENTIAL

This wine is drinking well right now and will probably continue to age/mature well for another 5 to 10 years. 

SCORE (on a 100-point scale)

85

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

FAIR – GOOD

WINERY WEBSITE

http://www.fessparker.com/

2012 Lynmar Rose of Pinot Noir

DATE CONSUMED

Sunday, July 21, 2013

VINTAGE

2012

WINERY/PRODUCER

Lynmar

WINE NAME

Rose of Pinot Noir

TYPE OF WINE

Rose

COMPOSITION

100% Pinot Noir

SUBNAME/NICKNAME

N/A

VINEYARD DESIGNATION

N/A

REGION/APPELLATION/A.V.A. (American Viticultural Area)

Russian River Valley, California

ALCOHOL CONTENT

14.2%

PRICE PAID

Retail: $25

Wine Club price: $20

Final price with sales tax and shipping: $25.54

WHERE/WHEN BOUGHT AND/OR HOW PROCURED

We received this wine with our quarterly wine club shipment in February, 2013

BOUQUET

This wine has a beautiful “strawberries & cream” aroma (along with cherry), which is probably exactly what it’s going to taste like based on my previous experience with Lynmar’s Rose of Pinot Noir.  There’s also suggestions of savory herbs with just a hint of a rumor of a suggestion of RRV soil/earth as well.

 

TASTING NOTES

I have read quite a few articles/stories about how fantastic the 2012 vintage was throughout most of California.  Evidently, the 2012 vintage was wonderful in the Russian River Valley as well.

As usual, this is by far one of, if not thee, best rose I’ve tasted all year.  Roses that are based on Pinot Noir are almost always my favorite and this beauty fits the bill.  I enjoy roses from Provence and Southern Rhone-styled roses as well, but in my humble opinion, because the Pinot Noir grape possesses unparalleled depth-of-flavors, complexity, and elegance, when properly grown and vinified, it’s rare to surpass a superior rose based on the Pinot Noir grape.

The bouquet for this wine foreshadowed EXACTLY how it would taste.  This wine does indeed taste like vinified strawberries and cream.  In addition to that classic English staple, there are also elements of cherries and savory herbs like sage, along with a stony mineral component.  Few grapes have the complexity and depth-of-flavor of Pinot Noir, and thanks to that heavenly grape, this rose does indeed show incredible depth-of-flavor and complexity (just like most of Lynmar’s Pinot Noirs).  Like most Pinots, there’s black pepper running in the background as well, running side-by-side with all of those fabulous savory herbs.

Some roses from Provence and the Rhone can be bone dry (almost painfully), but this rose strikes the PERFECT balance between dryness, fruit, herbs, earth, minerality (I just made-up that word; it’s the adjective form of “mineral”), earthiness, alcohol, and a flavor profile that my description(s) does absolutely no justice to this fantastic rose!

One quick word about this wine’s 14.2% alcohol level: that is generally quite elevated for a rose.  However, this wine doesn’t taste anywhere NEAR 14.2%.  If I were to taste this wine blindly, I would have guessed around 13%.  So if you’re one of those “Oh my God/Allah/Buddha; this wine’s alcohol is way too frickin’ high!!!!!” relax and enjoy this wine.  That 14.2% alcohol level is as sly as a fox and won’t be noticed.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

I paired this wine with my favorite rose-pairing food: grilled salmon.  I take a nice, thick salmon steak and generously spice it with sea salt, freshly-cracked black pepper, and Herbs de Provence.  This gorgeous rose paired PERFECTLY with the salmon steak.  About a year ago, Arthur made his fantastic duck confit salad when friends came over for dinner and the 2011 Lynmar Rose of Pinot Noir paired gorgeously with his duck confit salad.  As we all know, Pinot (both red/still wine and rose) pairs fabulously with duck and salmon (along with practically every other protein on the planet).  As I was drinking this wine, I kept thinking about how well this rose would pair with smoked salmon deviled eggs.  I haven’t tried that particular pairing yet, but I would just about bet my life that this rose would go PERFECTLY with smoked salmon deviled eggs.  I know it goes well with duck confit salad and grilled salmon, but I can’t WAIT to try one of our other bottles with those smoked salmon deviled eggs; I’d bet the house that that pairing will be beyond compare!

AGING POTENTIAL

Roses are meant to be drunk young and this beauty is drinking gorgeously right now.  I’ve head years-old roses that were shockingly good and because this rose has a spicy, herbally structure, I would actually imagine that this rose would age well for another year or two or three.  I don’t know about anybody else, but I wouldn’t bet that our other three bottles of this rose will still be “viable” in another year or two, so we’ll be finishing the other three bottles we have in the cellar before the end of the year.  But if you discover a “lost” bottle in your cellar a couple of years from now, please let me know how it’s drinking in 2015 or 2016; I’d bet $100 that this wine will still drink well up to around 2016 or so.

SCORE (on a 100-point scale)

92

Q.P.R. (QUALITY-TO-PRICE RATIO) (POOR, FAIR, GOOD, EXCELLENT)

GOOD – EXCELLENT

WINERY WEBSITE

http://www.lynmarwinery.com/